The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-06
In the House.

In the House the Senate amendment 10
the section for joint committee TO mvesti-
gate the affairs of the Western and Atlantic
railroad and the States property i'll Tennes-
see was concurred i'll.
The hours of the session were again
changed and will be hereafter from to II
O'Clock.
The House went into Committee of the
Whole on the reformatory prison bill. Mr..
Simmons, of Sumter, concluded his argu-
nent of yesterday. lie said that the bill
was impracticable He contended that
reformation seldom if ever followed the
commission of a great crime. lie read
from reports that at least nlne-tenths of the
convictS sentenced for such crimes had no
disposition to reform, punishment being of
no avail to produce it. He asked would the
House take this highest human authority or
that OF the gentleman from Barlow, that of
DR. Munday, or that of DIR. FELTON,. The
gentleman from Barlow was very consistent
He never perverted facts. He quoted DR..
Felton's opening declaration that lac had no
attack to make on the convict lease and
said his speech was a most ferocious attack
on the convict lease SYSTEM but he Sug-
gested no remedy in decrying the evils of
the system. Referring to the doctors
charge of undue intimacy between the male
and female convicts, he asked if his bill
made any provision to prevent it. The
same keepers would overlook the school of
reformation as the camps of the lessees, and
have the enforcement Of the laws and
regulations.
PROVISION FOR KIND TREATMENT.
He read from the rules governing the
management of the convicts to show the
provision made for their humane treatment
and protested against DR.. Feton's charges,
founded upon newspaper statements. Ile
asked if the Governor and the keeper could
not enforce these rules how could they be
enforced under DIR. Felton's systeml The
rules required two beds in each cell. A ne
gro with two bedsteads would be so puzzled
to choose between them that he would sit
up all night No man was a better friend
to the colored people than he was, and he
believed that if it was left to
the colored people of this coun-
try he could be elected President
of the United States. But that did not
prevent him from abiding to their vices
He said that with few exceptions they had
no regard for the marriage tie. They
thought it could be dissolved at will. They
had no feeling of detestation of crime, but
were rather inclined TO make heroes of
criminals The bill would tax virtue to sus-
tain vice. The Bible establishes pains and
penalties for crime, and the first
sentence was pronounced in tho gar
den of Eden. Solomon said
''Spare the rod and spoil the child" Pains
and penalties for crime were Numbered
from Mount Sinai and repeated from Geth-
semane. Stand by virtue in Georgia and
opposition TO vice. Let the criminal suffer
for his crime. He pronounced 'She" the
most diaboGcal book that was ever written
If he should die, las warned by DR.. FELTON,, he
would die game and proud i'll the knowledge
that he was killed by the political chief of
Georgia.
Mr. BRAY FAvoRs IT.
Mr.. Bray, of Fulton, followed in favor
of reformatory in what is pronounced the
ablest speech of the session He. said that
either extreme modesty or an incorrigible
hereditary laziness prevented him from
much speaking The discussion had taken
"a wide range and included the convict lease
system of Georgia. He took occasion to say
that now and hereafter he was opposed to it,
III he had the power he would rive 1t as tho
lightnings of the Almighty rives the forest.
lie would support the bill because il was
opposed TO the present system and would re
store to Georgia the custody and control of
its own convicts We have heard the lease
system extolled. The only difference be-
tween it and the States direct control was
that there was money in it for somebody
There was a job in it. 1t puts
money and power in the
hands of few men 1t is a monopoly
Why does Nihilism and Communism gain a
foot holdl 1t Is because we are establishing
nonopolies everywhere. Here in Georgia
we have established n monopoly of convicts
TO compete with the honest labor of the
people. The lessees were enabled TO run out
free labor and put money i'll their own
pockets. See what the brick industry now
Is and what it used to be.
COVERED WITH MILDEw
That camp on the Chattahoochee has
thrown its mildew over it. The lease
system builds a few at the expense of the
many The gentleman from Doughcrty had
pronounced it the grandest system the
world ever saw Mr.. Bray read from a
sermon delivered in Atlanta by Dr. HAY
good declaring that no government had the
right TO transfer to any one the power TO
punish its convicts If it did so to avoid
responsibility or expense it was weak and
cowardly. The convict lease sytem could
never have been devised but for n money
consideration. There could be no good and
wise legislation where money CON
sderatlon was paramount These
views were Us wide as the
poles from those of DR.. Tucker quoted by
Mr.. Arnheim. He asked "Has any ante
cedent Legislature the power TO restrict the
, police power of this Legislaturef Has not
the Legislature repr senting the sovereignty
OF the State the right to deal with this
question" He insisted that the State had
the right to take charge of its
convicts without regard to tie lease con
tract. He read from authorities to sustain
this proposition. The lease system was horn
,
forced upon Georgia by bastard govern
ment Among the authorities read was n
decision of the Supreme Court of Georgia
denying the right of tho State to surrender
the police power over its convicts.
COULD BE DIVIDED
He insisted that there could be division
Of this power. He referred co the case of
boy convicted after eight years conflne-
ment Of committing murder in the vicinity
OF Atlanta murder in the Penitentiary
and the State supposed TO be present.
was that the exercise of its
police powerl Would the crime
have been committed il the State had
maintained its police power over its con
victs He was afraid TO speak of the man
agement of any of the camps. He believed
that the system was simply Internal He
believed that we have the authority 10
pass this bill and ho believed
in It's principles. Referring 20 the
argument of the gentleman from Sumter
that there could be no reformation, he said.
That was contradictory TO the assurance
given 10 the thief on the cross, aud TO the
whole plan Of salvation. Without it Christ
died III vain, and our religion is cheat and
Asnarc. lie would read little reforma-